


Thalassic Chronicles

by Lyzaander



Category: Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Pre-Thor (2011), Chaos in Asgard, Gen, Magic-N-Science Geeks, Mermaid Jane, Prince Loki, The Author Regrets Everything
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-31
Updated: 2014-05-28
Packaged: 2018-01-17 16:51:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1395139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lyzaander/pseuds/Lyzaander
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>magic-n-science-prompts: Pre-canon AU in which Jane is an inquisitive mermaid from Earth who Loki finds washed up on the beach of Asgard after she swam too close to an underwater tear in time-space, and who he promptly hoists over his shoulder and takes back home to keep in his pool.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Azure Sea

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Omnicat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Omnicat/gifts), [Mashroots](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Mashroots).
  * Inspired by [Prompt 54](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/42850) by Omnicat. 
  * Inspired by [Fan Art Fill](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/42859) by Mashroots. 



 

The sand gives easily under the soles of his boots - Loki would have chosen to walk barefoot if he was not expected to attend the morning court session today. The dawn stroll along Asgard’s beach calms his nerves.

The ocean is off-limits to all - even strong swimmers - mostly due to the fact that the salt water cascades over the edge. Where the waterfalls lead to, or even how the body of water replenishes, is something even his mother does not know.

Loki, however, has a theory that is supported by random items that appear on Asgard’s beaches; Yggdrasil links all the Realms together. He would investigate these additional paths, but the degree of uncertainty is too high to risk, and Loki would rather not materialize into an inescapable water-prison deep in the oceanic trenches of Midgard. He will traverse Yggdrasil’s secrets only when he is ready and well-prepared - unlike Thor, who rushes in at the slightest hint of an adventure.

He rounds another bend on the beach, and spots a tangle of sea plants. It’s not unusual, but Loki spots a shimmer that is inexplicable - a large blue tail peeks out from the black-brown mess. Wariness is key, and he approaches slowly in the case that the creature is not dead.

The scales are a multifaceted iridescent blue - beautiful is what comes to mind - and Loki reaches out to touch one. It is smooth and hard, and he has the shock of his life when the tail twitches.

_It’s still alive._

It stops moving as quickly as it started, and Loki waits ten beats before he gains enough fortitude to pull off the sea plants - with magic, of course. The vegetation flies far into the ocean and disappears with a sad splash.

His expectations of a giant fish are not incorrect - its _lower half_ is a giant fish. He just doesn’t expect the upper half to be a woman. She’s asleep on her side, arms folded halfway in front of herself. The copper brown of her hair is interwoven with pearls and mother-of-pearl. Her skin is a creamy alabaster, and her modesty is held intact with what seems to be two large _seashells._

He wonders if he’s found a princess, and then is quickly jolted by the decorum that has been instilled in him by his mother. He kneels by her side, and flounders a little when it comes to waking her - there’s nothing but so much _bare skin_ \- he then settles for shaking her shoulder gently and tapping her cheek.

“Hello? Please wake up.”

* * *

 

It’s warm.

It’s warm and dry. It’s so comfortable, but her body screams for water.

She wonders if she’s fallen asleep on land yet again - her guardian will have a fit if he finds out  that she’s been out exploring again.

Something pats her cheek. It’s warm and soft, and Jane rubs into it.

There’s the rumble of a great sea serpent, and Jane jolts awake.

There’s the shadow of someone hovering over her.

* * *

 

All Loki catches is a flash of soulful eyes in warm brown before he gets a second shock - she literally does a jumping flop not unlike freshly caught fish. He nearly gets slapped in the face by her _tail_.

She’s startled, and Loki backs away to give her some space. She still looks wary, but when he shows her the universal gesture of empty hands, she relaxes. It doesn’t take a genius to recognise that her gaze burns with curiosity.

He settles down onto the sand, and watches as she crawls toward the ocean. He sees her visibly wilt in relief as her tail slips into the ocean, her upper body resting where the waves break onto the sand.

“Hello there, my name is Loki,” he makes the first attempt to communicate, and he’s entranced as she tilts her head to regard him. She hums, and it takes a second attempt to realise that she’s answering him. A series of humming and keening and clicks follow after, and then he realises his error.

_She can’t speak in his language._

He moves closer, and motions for her hand. She frowns, but curiosity wins over. She reaches out, but not before humming something that ends with an admonishing-sounding click.

“Hold on,” the disparity in verbal communication is easily rectified with seiðr, and both of them shiver as the seiðr  finishes its tingling journey all the way to the base of their necks.

He shakes off the sensation first, “Can you understand me now?”

Her eyes go wide, “How did you do that? I didn’t even catch that. Show me again.”

Her voice is lovely, a part of him thinks absentmindedly as she pulls his hand towards her. Her tiny delicate fingers twist around his hand, trying to find the source of the translation mechanism. She’s unlike anything he’s seen before - Fandral’s tales of half-women and half-fish seem to be more than drunken tales now.

“I can’t do it again. The… All-tongue is understandable by nearly all sentient creatures of Yggdrasil, but it is difficult to learn. I shared my knowledge of the language with you.”

“Yggdrasil? You mean I’m not in Atlantis Territory anymore?”

She pulls back from him, and turns to search the horizon. Whatever she sees out there appears to be foreign, and Loki knows that if he lets her go here, it will be the last he sees of her.

“Wait! It’s not safe to go out there just like this. Just as the pathways brought you here, you could disappear to another Realm into unknown conditions. It’s too dangerous.”

She has a healthy dose of suspicion in her amber depths, “Am I to trust the words of a stranger then? I do not think that the oceans are dangerous, land dweller. I was born and raised in the water.”

* * *

 

He’s not as suspicious as Jane states he is, but even Jane knows the cautionary tales that are told to young mermaids and mermen. But if this ‘ _Loki_ ’ had been of a malicious sort, he would have already tied her up and carted her to who knows where, instead of trying to wake her. He’d even taught her his language effortlessly.

There is true sincerity in his green eyes, “The currents here are unpredictable. If traversing the pathways were not dangerous, you would not have been washed up on Asgard’s shore, my Lady.”

He makes a good point.

“Fine then, _Loki_.What do you propose then?”

“I… could take you to the Palace. We could do research in the Grand Library, and find a way back to your home then. Through a safer means of transport.”

A palace? Atlantis has a palace, but it’s so far away from the surface of the water that there is more shadow that the bioluminescent creatures can cover. This… _Asgard_ is on the land, and she is curious to see how it looks like. The _library_ is a foreign word to her though.

Erik would be so mad at her, but Jane can’t bear to give up this opportunity of a lifetime.

* * *

 

There’s a war going on inside of her, and Loki waits with bated breath as her tail twitches. If she slid into the water, he would have no chance of catching her, and probably earn a fishtail slap in the face for his efforts.

“Fine then. How will we get there?”

“By horse, since I can’t teleport you back with me.”

 

* * *

 

She’s seen horses before, but not up close. It’s huge, and its black hooves are terrifying. The behemoth of a land creature shuffles on its impossibly long legs. Loki hoists her up with ease, and she slides down just as easily by grasping his arms, “It’s too high. I can’t do it.”

 

* * *

 

 

She’s trembling in his arms, and Loki sighs in defeat - a fish out of water, indeed. Instead of travelling on horseback through a small stretch of the countryside, Loki is forced to carry her. She’s light in his arms, but her smooth scales and the way that she squirms makes it difficult for him to hold onto her.

He ends up hoisting her on his shoulder backwards, leaving her to gaze at the beautiful blaze of the sunrise that they are leaving behind.

“I never quite got your name, my Lady.”

“But I did tell you, after you told me yours!”

“I did not understand then.”

There is a huff and the flick of her tail, “Jane. I hail from Atlantis. My people are Merfolk. We are different from the Sirens, who kill men for their flesh.”

“A pleasure to meet you, Jane of Atlantis. I am Loki Odinson, of Asgard. My people are called Ӕsir.”


	2. Bejeweled Sea

It’s odd, to see the sun from above ground - the light does not cover the ground in undulating waves of light. The plants are sturdy like coral, not yielding to the wind. The birds travel weightlessly in the air with the ease of fish in the water.

* * *

Jane’s hands are braced on Loki’s back, pushing herself up so that she can see the land better.

“How heavy is a bird? They seem to travel weightlessly in the air, and can even float on the water. I’ve never managed to catch one before.”

She’s observant and endlessly curious, and Loki wonders if he was like that during his childhood, asking his various tutors from other Realms about the inner workings of just about everything in Yggdrasil. He’s itching to pump her for information, of _what it’s like to live in the sea_. Despite her lack of legs to walk the land, she seems entirely comfortable with breathing. He narrows her home Realm to be either Midgard or Vanaheim, seeing that they are the only Realms without giant oceans of frozen water or molten rock.

“It depends on their size. Their bones are hollow yet strong, making them very light. Their feathers catch the wind, and repel water. Not all birds can fly, and not all birds can swim. I could show you a messenger hawk from the aviary when we get to the Palace.”

She hums in that odd way of hers, and it is but a few moments before she is distracted by something again, “What’s that then? Too big to be a bird, and I have never seen a fish that could fly so…” there is a pause, and Loki imagines that she is squinting to look at the bird better, “I’ve never seen a ship that could float above the sea itself.”

Loki whirls around, and spots a large boat heading their way while Jane squeals her displeasure.

“It’s one of the guard patrols. Don’t speak, and _don’t move._ ”

His brain is working overtime in trying to sort out their sticky situation.

* * *

There’s that same tingly sensation again, except that it smothers her skin and scales. She wriggles from it unconsciously, and both of his hands clutch the bottom half of her tail.

“Jane. _Don’t move._ I don’t want the guards finding me suspicious because I keep struggling with a dead animal.”

He’s done something again, like the communication spell, and Jane can’t believe that she’s missed _whatever_ he’s done to make her… look like _a dead animal_. Saviour or not, there will be words exchanged, because she wants to know how he’s doing _stuff_ that should be impossible, but for now she’ll play along. There is a strange sound that slowly gets louder, and then someone calls out, “Hail!”

Loki turns left a fraction, and Jane is left floundering a little as his hands are not supporting her tail anymore. She clutches his skins - the land dwellers call them ‘ _clothes_ ’ - and just barely avoids upending herself over his shoulder.

“Is there a matter of urgency, guards?”

“No, my Prince, seeing that you are well now. It was reported that your stallion had returned to the stables without you. We were dispatched to find you.”

Shock doesn’t even begin to cover it, but Jane rationalizes - no average man could suggest that they could enter the Palace and access whatever resources as if it was nothing unusual.

“Ah… yes. It seems that he was spooked by a direwolf, and managed to untangle his reins while I was on tracking a roe doe on foot.”

There’s silence that follows, before one of the guards blurts, “Shall we escort you back, Prince Loki?”

“Of course. That was the idea of being dispatched, was it not?” There’s humor in his voice, and there is enough charisma to make the guards chuckle. Loki sets her at the front of the bow carefully, and then stands behind her. Jane figures that it’s a way to shield her visually from the guards, judging from that annoying tingle that she can’t quantify, and settles in to watch as the boat takes them to Asgard.

* * *

 The boat rounds the great walls that surround Asgard, and Loki strengthens the seiðr  around Jane. It never hurt to be extra careful - there are many citizens of Asgard up and about.

The sunrise strikes the capital and sets it aglow, and he sees her iridescent scales reflect mesmerizing rainbows. Loki hears her gasp before it is swallowed by the wind. Asgard has always been beautiful, but it’s the reaction of others not native to Asgard that really drives the realization deep.

Her hair catches the rays as well, interspersed with pearls, and Loki wonders for a moment if she would like jewels in her hair as well.

* * *

 There’s nothing like this back in her home waters - there are only the rarest of occasions when the sun hits the water in the shallows just right, bathing the underwater in shafts of shimmering gold.

Where Atlantis is craggy with isolated bursts of colourful or glowing fish, Asgard is sleek like the scales of silvered fish. There are land dwellers everywhere, dressed in flowing clothes. Jane wishes that she could sear everything into her memory - there’s nothing but amazement that follows each tiny aspect that she discovers. Children play together, tossing a strange ball that never does touch the ground.

For a moment, Jane wishes that she could live here forever, and take her time in discovering how they live in this world of dazzling light.

* * *

 The boat slows to a stop, landing in the backyard where the stables and the main kitchens are located. Most of the help would be indoors at the moment - stable hands busy with the horses and the care for the riding equipment, and cooks busy with the morning meal.

“You have my thanks, men. You may enjoy a cask, at my expense. Tell the wine master that I sent you.”

He secures Jane over his shoulder, and steps off the boat. The men will be happy, and less suspicious after getting slightly tipsy. Jane is more cooperative this time to a invisibility spell, and Loki manages to make his way from the backyard to his chambers without looking like a fool talking to thin air.

* * *

 Loki brings her down several hallways, and when he turns to walk through a massive set of doors, Jane feels the slump of his shoulders. He continues walking, but at a slower pace. The room is made of burnished gold and dark accents. There are strange objects on the shelves, and some of them are moving about on their own.

“Where are we, now?”

“My set of rooms in the Emerald Wing,” he says, as she continues looking around. There is a great opening in one wall, and Jane can see the stars beyond the blue skies. He brings her to another room that has only three walls, and Jane sees a modestly sized pool that spans from the inside of the room to the outside. If there was ever a doubt about his princely status, it has been erased.

He lowers her into water, and then there is a thunderous sound that resounds through the entire room. She grips something on reflex, and Loki very nearly follows her headfirst into the water.

* * *

 “LOKI!”

_Oh Valhalla and all its Valkyries._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapters will be a little slow - I apologize. Real life is demanding :[


	3. Coral Sea

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My apologies - haven't had time at all to write! It's busy from day to night where I am right now.

“LOKI!”

_Oh Valhalla and all its Valkyries._

For a soul splitting moment he had wondered if he was truly caught in the act by Heimdall - surely Jane was no threat to Asgard’s sovereignty as the Realm Eternal.

But Thor’s voice is unmistakable - the loud bellowing that could put a small squadron of soldiers to shame. Jane slips into the water silently, leaving only the top of her head and her eyes peeking out of the water. The low bund wall of the pool keeps her hidden, but Loki walks out to meet Thor to eliminate any chances of Thor accidentally discovering his newest… guest.

Loki walks through the door to see not only his brother, but unexpected company as well. Hogun and Sif stand off to one side, while Volstagg is eyeing his half-eaten breakfast platter. Fandrall is trapped in a headlock, but is quickly released when Thor spots Loki.

Thor’s happy grin at the sight of him does little to take the edge off, “Brother!”

The sigh that gushes out is not feigned, “Yes, Thor? I do hope that my doors have not been damaged.”

His older brother does not falter, “I thought that we could make our way together to Valaskjálf for the morning court session, right after having a light breakfast in Mother’s hall.”

_Oh. The court session._

It had completely slipped his mind.

* * *

 

“Are you alright, Loki?”

“Ah, yes. I’d think it best that you go ahead, Brother. I have... matters to see to before I am ready to attend court. Send my regards to Mother.”

His brother seems harried, somehow. Thor knows that he is not the most observant of Ӕsir , but he has spent enough time with Loki to know that his brother is… distracted. It’s not uncommon - Loki’s mind moves faster than anyone else that Thor knows in the Nine.

“Hmmmm… _matters_ to attend to. I had word that _Prince Loki_ was seen up and about near the outer boundaries of Asgard in the early hours of the morning,” Fandrall hums while moving towards the door that Loki had slipped out of.

Whatever is in that room, Thor never really gets to find out, because it slams shut under Loki’s bidding, nearly taking off Fandrall’s nose and beard along with it.

Loki laughs, “I never pegged a man like you to be so mindful of gossip, Fandrall. I have several projects in there that are ongoing, and I would hate for you to have contracted some… side effects.”

Fandrall is oddly silent, lips pressed together, and Thor thinks that maybe Loki has unleashed another of his sticky seiðr. He doesn’t get much time to think about it - an invisible force ushers them out into the floors of the hallway.

Sif merely sniffs, “Rude.”

Volstagg diffuses the situation with an easy laugh and a exclamation of hunger, and Thor agrees.  Hogun follows with an uncharacteristic silence from Fandrall, while Sif huffs.

* * *

 

She’d been curious in the conversation, and had slipped out of the water to listen in. She’d been midway between the pool and the door when it slammed shut, in full view of the man who’d snuck more than a glance.

His face had been pale - like he’d seen one of the more horrifying sea serpents. She’d crawled as fast as she could back into the water, and then the door had slammed shut. Jane pushes herself out of the water when he calls, and Loki preempts her, “the people that you heard… were my brother and his group of friends.”

Jane laughs, “They are _loud_ , but not unlike certain... schools of merfolk. I reckon that you’ve never heard _an entire float_ of whales before.”

Her statement makes Loki blink, and it is an instantaneous and startling transformation from the serious countenance that he’s worn so far. The corners of his mouth turn up in time with the crinkling at the corner of his eyes, “ You’re from Midgard then. I’ve heard them from the surface of the water before. It was a haunting melody.”

Midgard? They have a name from where she comes from, then.

There is a noise of some kind from the window, and Jane watches the slight movement of Loki’s gaze to the side. He sighs, “I don’t have much time to spend here. The morning court session will require my presence…”

There’s concern written in the lines of his brow, and Jane grasps his conundrum.

* * *

 

Her tail does a little wriggle, and he watches as Jane merely nods whilst slipping back into the water seamlessly. She has an easy smile, and Loki feels discomfiture at leaving her unattended - she’s more _stranded_ than _alone_ in Asgard.

“But you won’t be gone for too long, right?”

“I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

* * *

 

He’s left her with fruits - a rare delicacy in Atlantis (painstakingly harvested by merfolk who brave the long journey and the brackish waters of the mangrove to obtain) and strange blocky objects that resemble oysters, though they are neither pets nor food. The _books_ are all straight lines at the sides and rounded corners, a hard shell encasing thin films that have the consistency of sun-baked seaweed.

She goes for the one that catches her eye. Jane doesn’t need to have lived _years_ in Asgard to know a well-loved possession, for the covers are well worn and yet, well-cared for. There is a cloth for which to dry her hands before turning the pages, and Jane delights in the vibrant, _moving_ illustrations.

 _“It’s a children’s book_ ,” he had said, “ _but it is much regarded as a timeless and universal allegory. Every now and then, I read it when I have time to spare. And each time I learn more from it.”_

There’s a flowing script that she cannot read yet, but it is of no matter, for the characters move compellingly. It is an entire _saga_ told through detailed movement. There is more of that tingle on every dried leaf that she has come to associate with Loki and his… inexplicable gifts.

 


	4. Dazzling Sea

Thor finds that the morning court today is more tedious than usual, for Loki has forgone his usual _subtle_ mockeries of those who bring their petty issues to court. Instead of reaching deep inside to find his well of inner serenity to combat the humor from his brother’s usual antics, Thor watches as his brother stares holes into the minor lords who have started to wrestle each other into the floor.

 

* * *

 

The words are slanted and hideous - Thor has never been known to produce elegant scripts on a scrap of parchment smaller than his own palm - _**Are you well, brother?** _

Loki frowns, and then schools his face into a practiced mask. His hand flutters over the paper, and the ink slithers to form sleek letters.

_**Never better. Merely… bored.** _

He turns what little is left of his attention (and the rest of his ire) to the men wrestling on the floor, and sends snarling wolves made of seiðr to scare the men into submission before the Allfather can slam Gungnir in chastisement.

The wolves disappear into muted light, and the murmurs of excitement die down along with them, and Loki goes back into pondering the meandering paths of Yggdrasil. His thoughts travel to Jane, who has somehow traversed from Midgard to Asgard. The curiosity grows - so far he has gleaned that there is Atlantis, the vast oceans, the differing kinds of Merfolk, and the Sirens.

He wonders if there is more that Jane can tell him.

He wishes to see the world that she has so briefly talked about.

 

* * *

 

The _books_ are enthralling. Jane reads even as she calms her rumbling stomach with fruits, splayed on the stone floors a little distance away in case she creates a mess. She swallows the final juicy mouthful of sweet flesh, and turns her gaze to the skies outside, where there is a beguiling mix of the sun and the night sky.

It’s a world that she could never have even imagined.

And she cannot wait for Loki to show her more.

 

* * *

 

There is a section of the training grounds that are more or less reserved for the princes, Lady Sif and the Warriors Three - Mjolnir needs her space for the unpredictable flight patterns that her wielder requires of her - and it is there that they wait.

Fandrall looks on as Volstagg laughs off Sif’s ruthless attacks. It seems easy, but Volstagg is more muscle than fat even at the girth, and his stance is solely based on defence. Sif is getting more out of the exercise than the slow dismemberment of a stationary training dummy.

“You are troubled.”

Fandrall very nearly jumps at Hogun’s lethargic rumble. The man has always quiet to the point of silence, movement and footsteps like a shadow. It is Hogun’s skills of observation that lead him to near-perfect synchronisation between all of them when fighting off opponents, even Loki.

Fandrall laughs it off, “It is of no import. Merely wondering how best to gain a lady’s favour, my good man.”

“If you say so.”

The conversation is closed, but it has opened new alleyways of thought that Fandrall has been avoiding. He knows what he saw: bejeweled tail, bare skin and innocent eyes. A shiver runs down his spine at the claustrophobic memory of cold, salty water.

Has Loki discovered the bluff in his tales of successfully bewitching the fabled water maidens of Midgard?

 

* * *

 

It seems to be forever till Loki can escape the obligatory formalities as the morning court session is ending, but it is barely the hour of noon. He calls for a servant to bring a platter of food up to his set of rooms - he doesn’t quite know what else Jane can stomach aside from the untouched selection of fruits that had been left over from Thor’s raid of his breakfast.

He wonders what she will have to say about the books - she called them _oysters_ on first glance - and hopes that the Merfolk have invented runes of their own making.

He wards the doors to the pool as soon as he walks through them; he does not need the servants to catch a further glimpse of things that do not quite belong in Asgard. Fenrir’s sighting had been easily smoothed over, but not many had taken kindly to Loki’s discovery of an eight-legged foal in the far reaches of Vanaheim. He and Sleipnir had suffered for it, until the Allfather had seen the usefulness of a horse that could strike ground-bound enemies without ever throwing its rider.

But instead of finding an inquisitive fish-tailed maiden, he finds one with with her hands pillowed underneath her at the side of the pool, and her hair floats softly as she sleeps. The books are splayed in front of her, nestled upon a cloth.

It cannot possibly be comfortable - in that position, Loki has woken up countless times with arms that he cannot feel - and he gently sweeps the books away to the bookshelves with seiðr. The movement is silent, but Jane rouses all the same - and with their previous interactions, Loki thinks that she could be sensitive to seiðr, which is _very_ curious. Thor and his merry band of comrades could never feel seiðr unless they ran up against a wall of it.

She reminds him of a little child, making a soft keening noise while stretching. It takes her a little while before she finishes, turning bleary eyes at him, “Loki?”

 

* * *

 

The foods that the land dwellers eat are… different from what she is used to in the oceanic depths. The food stays warm for longer, and the tastes and textures more varied. Even the foods that she is used to eating are different here: cooked and dressed differently.

Asgard, as she learns over a particularly delicious ‘pastry’, has days longer than that of Midgard. And it was no wonder - the Asgardian morning that she had spent was comparable to the amount of daylight that she and her fellow oceanic denizens received. That fact warrants a question, and it escapes her mouth before she can think twice, “Then what about the-”

Loki is looking at her with a devious smile and bright eyes, while Jane resists the urge to pout, “We had an agreement, Jane. One question every turn.”

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> I have dug a deep, deep hole. I may never get out again. Please send help.


End file.
